Smart vehicle sun visor

Abstract

A vehicle sun visor system with a touch screen display is configured to display video feed from one or more cameras. A front facing polarized and / or photochromic camera shows the area of view which is normally blocked by the deployed sun visor, allowing the user to view traffic lights, road signs, etc. without the distraction of glare. Software image processing may also be used to reduce glare and improve visibility. In addition, the sun visor system also has a “see-me” camera which allows the user to use the screen as a mirror, and one or more rear-view cameras which can be used to see the passenger area of a vehicle through the touch-screen display. Any of the cameras may be used to take photos or videos, which may be viewed on the display and transmitted wirelessly to other electronic devices or cloud storage.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 623,368 entitled “Vehicle Sun Visor with a Multi-Functional Touch Screen with Multiple Camera Views and Photo Video Capability” filed on Feb. 16, 2015, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62 / 052,475, entitled “Replace mirror on the vehicle's sun visor with multi-functional LED touch screen that displays multiple webcams and has photo video upload capability” filed on Sep. 19, 2014. This application also claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62 / 220,966, entitled “Enhanced vehicle sun visor with a multi-functional touch screen with multiple camera views and photo video capability” filed on Sep. 19, 2015. The contents of all of the aforementioned patent applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present application relates to a vehicle sun visor ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sun visor device which allows the user to see the area around the vehicle which is blocked when the sun visor is deployed with polarization or glare reduction.

[0017]According to an embodiment of the present invention, the computer instructions are further configured to: process the front image to remove glare.

[0065]The illustrated embodiments of the invention includes an apparatus of an audiovisual system, either built-in or retrofitted to a vehicle sun visor, allowing the driver and front passenger to regain visibility of the portion of the vehicle's external environment blocked from view when the sun visor is in use. This audiovisual system is alternatively referred to as an automotive visualization system. It also enables them to digitally view themselves and rear passengers, and also other additional camera views can be integrated or interfaced with the system. In addition, it also enabled them to take and upload videos and images of vehicle's internal and external environment by manipulating and communicating with a system of cameras from a tablet-like touch screen device that's built-in or retrofitted on the vehicle sun visors.

[0067]The illustrated embodiments of the invention not only adds audiovisual systems on the vehicle's sun visors but also returns visibility to the portion of the vehicle environment that is blocked by use of the sun visor. It allows the user to not only view things in the vehicle's external environment that would be otherwise blocked by the sun visor, but also to enhance that view by using glare reduction and other image processing tools. In addition, it also allows the user to digitally view themselves and the rear passengers, and also other additional camera views can be integrated or interfaced with the system (For example: ‘Rear polarized view’ camera can also be displayed on the sun visor's LCD touch screen, so when the vehicle is being reversed, it would display the rear view of the vehicle on the sun visor's LCD touch screen, and that view would also be auto polarized and auto photochromic.) Moreover, it also allows the user to capture and store video and images, both within the vehicle and in the vehicle's external environment, allowing users to memorialize their trips.

[0068]Finally, the sun visor provides a convenient center for control and manipulation of such a system, allowing a driver to easily view both the external environment and interior of the vehicle by manipulating conveniently placed controls without turning or struggling with the sun visor thereby minimizing distractions during driving.

[0086]The computer includes a software module enabling a camera view that's displayed on the sun visor's LCD touch screen or the stored photos / videos on the sun visor's LCD touch screen to be displayed on the head-up display (HUD) system. This functionality would allow the users to keep looking straight on their windshield itself, and they would not have to look at the sun visor's LCD touch screen display for different camera views or the stored photos / videos.

Problems solved by technology

However, such existing sun visor mirrors don't display the opposite direction i.e. view external to the vehicle, or in other words, view in front of the vehicle.

In addition, the existing sun visor mirrors also don't have the ability to take photos / videos and be able to upload them to a central location.

However, when such people are either driving or waiting in their vehicles, either during the day or the night, with their sun visor down, and if they wanted to see the traffic light, informational boards, street names, or other similar information, which is usually posted higher up, then those people often have to get that external information either by looking from the sides of their sun visor or sometimes even have to pull up their sun visors altogether to access that external information.

In this case, since the currently existing mirrors on the vehicle's sun visors only display the view inside the vehicle and not the opposite direction i.e. the view external to the vehicle, so the existing mirrors on the sun visors don't help, and therefore, the vehicle's passengers often have to look at the bright sunlight or the glare in order to access the external information that's usually displayed higher up on the roads.

In short, the existing sun visor mirrors don't provide an easy way to be able to view the other passengers that might be sitting in the vehicle.

Also, the existing sun visor mirrors don't have the ability to take photos / videos of the passengers or to upload those photos / videos to online albums using built-in Wi-Fi, cellular, or to share those photos / videos with another device like smartphone, computer, etc. using Bluetooth.

Since the existing mirrors don't have this feature to take photos / videos for the passengers sitting in the vehicle, those travelling moments are often never captured.

Also, the existing sun visor mirrors don't have the video chat / conference functionality, which can allow the users to talk and share / exchange their videos in real-time with anyone else in the world that have video chat capable devices.

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